People Suspect That 'Dumb Starbucks' Is A Prank By Comedy Central Show 'Nathan For You'

Monday

Feb 10, 2014 at 3:01 PM

Aly Weisman

A faux coffee shop called "Dumb Starbucks" is baffling people everywhere after popping up over the weekend in Los Angeles' Los Feliz.

The shop, and drinks served, are identical to the real Starbucks — except that the word "dumb" is in front of every menu item as well.

A Starbucks spokesman told the Wall Street Journal that the company has nothing to do with the new shop.

But one theory on Hacker News seems to be a pretty likely explanation. User evan_ writes:

I would bet money that this is a stunt for the Comedy Central show "Nathan For You", which is coming back for a second season soon and does all kinds of weird business-y stunts like this.

In the first season he got a gas station to offer gas at a steep discount, but only after rebate which you had to drop off in person at the top of a mountain:

It increased business because people came for the low price, but only a handful of people actually decided to try to redeem the rebate. Those who did try to redeem it had to camp out overnight and solve riddles.

On another episode Nathan tried to help a Haunted House to create buzz by getting someone to sue them for being too scary.

Making the argument even more compelling, Tim Heidecker, an executive producer of "Nathan For You," retweeted a picture posted by @DumbStarbucks — which currently has over 5,300 followers.

We're now open for business! Visit us at 1802 Hillhurst Ave in Los Angeles. pic.twitter.com/WnVefrYM9b

— Dumb Starbucks (@dumbstarbucks) February 7, 2014

And Twitter seems to agree:

"Nathan For You," a docu-reality comedy show, premiered on Comedy Central in 2013 and will "soon" be back for a second season.

According to IMDB, "In the show, Nathan Fielder uses his business degree to help real small businesses turn a profit. But because of his unorthodox approach, Nathan's genuine efforts to do good often draw real people into an experience far beyond what they signed up for."

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SEE ALSO: A Mysterious New Coffee Shop Called 'Dumb Starbucks' Is Baffling Los Angeles